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Outlook for the Meetings of EU Leaders on 24-25 June 2021

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BRIEFING Pre-European Council Briefing Outlook for the meetings of EU leaders on 24-25 June 2021 At its meeting on 24-25 June 2021, the European Council will pursue its coordination efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic, discuss the situation on the various migration routes, return to the strategic debate on relations with Russia, revert to their discussions on Turkey and assess progress with the EU's economic recovery. 'The European Council will likely also address Belarus, Libya, Ethiopia and the Sahel. Regarding the EU's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the EU leaders are expected to address the lessons learned from the pandemic, vaccine production, international solidarity and vaccine sharing, as well as the remaining obstacles relating to the right of free movement across the EU. The strategic debate on relations with Russia will pick up from the EU leaders' discussion on 24-25 May 2021, on the basis of a new Commission report on the matter. As regards the EU's economic recovery, the EU leaders will discuss the recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area and review the implementation of Next Generation EU. A Euro Summit meeting on 25 June will review progress on banking union and the capital markets union. 1. European Council agenda points The only agenda items planned in advance for this June European Council, under the Leaders' Agenda for 2020-21, were the future of Schengen and relations with the UK. While the latter s ubject was already addressed at the special European Council meeting of 24-25 May, the former has been taken off the agenda as a point in itself, but Schengen will be an important part of the discussions on the pandemic and on migration. The June 2021 meeting is the last on the current Leaders' Agenda for 2020-21; whether President Michel will continue using this tool or propose a different way of planning the key topics for the European Council remains to be seen. Policy area Previous commitment 1 Occasion on which commitment was made Coronavirus The European Council will return to this issue regularly. 1-2 October 2020 The European Commission will report by June 2021 on the Coronavirus 25 February 2021 lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic so far. Turkey The European Council will return to this issue. 25 March 2021 Russia The European Council will return to this issue. 24-25 May2021 The Presidents of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will report on the G7 discussions of 11-13 June in the UK, and also on the EU-Canada and the EU-US summits, of 14 and 15 June respectively. The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, has been invited to join the meeting to discuss EU-UN cooperation to confront global challenges. 1 The 24-25 May 2021 European Council meeting also agreed to discuss migration in June but this was not part of the formal conclusions. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Authors: Suzana Anghel and Ralf Drachenberg European Council Oversight Unit PE 662.645 – June 2021 EN EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service 2. European Council meeting Coronavirus pandemic The European Council will discuss the coronavirus crisis (for the 18th time) addressing lessons learned from the pandemic, vaccine production, international solidarity and vaccine sharing, as well as the remaining obstacles relating to the right of free movement across the EU. Covid-19: Lessons learned and future preparedness The European Council will discuss a report on lessons learned from the pandemic, which they requested in February 2021 from the European Commission. Based on this report, EU leaders will discuss improving the EU's preparedness for future crises; including topics such as diversifying supply chains, EU coordination, joint procurement and strategic reserves, and an annual Commission 'state of preparedness' report for the European Council and the European Parliament. Production, delivery and deployment of vaccines EU leaders are expected to discuss the production, deployment and delivery of vaccines in the EU, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen providing an update on the state of play (353 million doses delivered and 299 million doses administered as of 14 June 2021). She may also update them on developments regarding issues such as the European Medicine Agency's approval of a new manufacturing site producing the Moderna vaccine in France, the evaluation and use of some vaccines for children under 18 years of age, the contamination of a batch of an active substance for the Janssen vaccine, and the Commission's legal action against AstraZeneca. International solidarity and vaccine sharing The European Council is likely to reiterate its support for COVAX, the EU being a major contributor, and highlight the need to accelerate the production and delivery of vaccines worldwide. EU leaders may continue to discuss the intellectual property waiver from the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement proposed by South Africa and India, and the alternative proposed by the Commission. President Michel stated at the Global Health Summit on 21 May 2021 that the EU was in favour of a 'third way' public-private partnership. However, on 10 June, the European Parliament adopted a resolution proposing to start negotiations on a temporary waiver of the TRIPS Agreement for Covid-19 vaccines and other related medical products. The proposal for an international treaty on pandemics was first announced by Mr Michel at the Paris Peace Forum in November 2020. At their meeting on 25 February 2021, EU leaders endorsed the suggestion, with a view to its being taken forward within the framework of the World Health Organization. It is expected that they will now also welcome the decision adopted by the 74th World Health Assembly to establish a Special World Health Assembly in November 2021 to consider the development of an international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response. Remaining obstacles to the exercise of the right to free movement The European Council is also due to discuss the remaining obstacles to the exercise of the right to free movement, and most likely it will welcome the adoption of the Council recommendation on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fewer and fewer Member States have temporary internal Schengen border controls as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic (Denmark, Finland, France and Hungary). At the same time, however, some of them (including Austria, Germany and Sweden) maintain controls at borders within the Schengen areas on grounds of secondary movements of migrants and/or risks relating to terrorists and organised crime. In this context, on 2 June, with a view to reducing the need for temporary border controls, the Commission published a new strategy for the Schengen area. This strategy focuses on i) ensuring effective and modern management of the EU's external borders; ii) reinforcing the Schengen area 2 Outlook for the meetings of EU leaders on 24-25 June 2021 internally; iii) improving governance and crisis preparedness; and iv) completing the enlargement of the Schengen area. EU leaders might refer to this strategy and call for its rapid implementation. Migration Illegal border crossings 2009-2020 2000000 For the first time since December 2018, 1800000 migration will formally feature on the 1600000 European Council's agenda – although the 1400000 Commission's new communication on 1200000 migration and asylum was submitted back 1000000 in September 2020. EU leaders are not 800000 expected to discuss outstanding decisions 600000 on the asylum package, but will probably 400000 focus on the protection of the EU's external 200000 borders and on cooperation with countries 0 of origin and transit. They will also review the migration situation on the various routes. Source: EPRS based on Frontex data. While overall illegal migration flows remain low (see graph above), illegal border crossings between January and April 2021 increased compared to the same period last year: Western Balkan route 1 1600 + 93 % Central Mediterranean route 11 602 + 156 % Western Mediterranean route 3 167 + 2.6 % Eastern Mediterranean route 4 828 - 57 % This was the case notably for Spain and Italy, which experienced high numbers of irregular arrivals of migrants on their territories this spring. EU leaders are expected to call on the Commission and the High Representative to propose concrete action for cooperation with priority countries. Economic recovery EU leaders will assess progress made on implementation of the Next Generation EU recovery fund. While welcoming the entry into force of the Own Resources Decision on 1 June, which has enabled the Commission to start borrowing resources (€20 billion) for the recovery instrument, the European Council is expected to push for rapid implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans. EU leaders are likely to underline the need for timely implementation of these plans in order to allow Member States to make the most of Recovery and Resilience Facility funding. Furthermore, the European Council is expected to welcome the EU headline targets, in line with the Porto Declaration – an instrument through which, on 8 May 2021, EU leaders committed 'to continue deepening the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights at EU and national level'. On the EU economy, EU leaders are also due to discuss the Council recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area for 2021, which encourages Member States to implement priority reforms and investments with the aim of making the euro area and its members more sustainable and resilient. External relations Russia The European Council is expected to resume its May 2021 discussion on relations with Russia, on the basis of the joint communication and reiterating the five guiding principles identified in 2016.
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